Face Value (Don't Judge a Book by its Cover)
by Ivy Belle
Summary: Darcy Lewis isn't as vulnerable as she seems, quite the opposite. As it turns out she has a connection with more than one of the avengers. Darcy is an ex red room operative who thought life as a college student would be an easy cover to keep...well some things just aren't meant to be.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Plain, normal, forgettable these are some of the things Darcy Lewis was supposed to be. The quirky assistant that wore hipster glasses for non-ironic reasons. The complete opposite of a highly trained operative with 20/20 vision. Daria would be lucky to get away being any of these after New Mexico and London. Damn

Darcy paced the length of the living room waiting for Jane to come back from the store down the London Street. Her emotions were usually kept in check but after 6 years of playing a stereotypical college student she had started to pick up the habits of her cover. Daria Kseniya Lagunov was trained not to feel, but Darcy Kelly Lewis had no such training. So she felt. Emotions splayed across her face, she felt all of the emotions that Daria had had beaten out of her.

Jane was the first person to find out about Darcy's past. A few nights after Thor's departure from Puente Antigua, Darcy felt she needed to tell Jane the truth. She was much less nervous about telling Jane than she was now with the prospect of having to tell Thor the truth before they went back to New York.

Obsidian dark sky and bright starlight is all that could be seen from the roof of the old car dealership they used as a lab. Wrapped in a rattan blanket, bottle of beer in hand, Darcy rolled her head to the side to see Jane sat on the other lounge chair. A wistful sigh broke the silence.

"He'll be back, I don't know when but he'll be back he doesn't seem like the kind of person to break a promise, does he?" Jane questioned not removing her gaze from the sky above.

She returned her gaze to the stars "I don't know Jane, some people just aren't what they seem, and we can't trust that he'll come back immediately". After all she'd seen Darcy definitely didn't take anything at face value.

"I don't know you as well as I should but after what happened, not just with the destroyer but everything before that , I trust you ,you're my friend , I hope you'll trust him if he comes back"

"You shouldn't trust me, you're right you don't know me well, for all you know I could be a deadly assassin. Thor could be totally different to what he said you can't take people at face value Jane" Darcy stated keeping her voice steady, her back going rigid at the confession of friendship and trust.

"Yeah, but you're obviously not a deadly assassin are you?" Jane sipped at her beer, turning her attention to Darcy. She stayed silent, not answering the question.

"You aren't are you?" Jane laughs nervously.

Darcy tugged a loose strand of hair from her braid. She had to tell Jane at some point, 'So why not now? It's not as if this would be the weirdest thing that's happened this week! Right?'

She raised her eyebrow instead of answering outright. Jane dropped her beer, the glass clattering against the rough rooftop.

"Oh my god! Should I have seen this coming? I just had to go and ask didn't I?" Jane had her head in her hands by this point. "Please say you're joking Darce!" She was starting to pull on her hair; Jane did this when she was nervous or frustrated at a theory not working out.

She cleared her throat. "I'm not joking, but if you'd prefer to pretend I was I won't stop you." She responded in the strongest tone she could muster. She placed her hands on the tops of her knees slowly, in a gesture she hoped would show Jane that she wasn't an immediate threat (Not to say that she couldn't easily take Jane out from that position).

"But…How…Wait you're only 21 how can you be an assassin? Are you really a student at Culver? Is Darcy even your real name? Wait that's not important. What the hell are you on this internship for? Are you here to kill me? Oh god I'm going to die before I can open the bridge again aren't I?-" Darcy quieted the litany of questions spilling out of Jane's mouth by leaning over to her and placing her palm over Jane's mouth.

"Please be quiet. I'll explain everything as long as you keep your mouth shut until I've finished and we move inside. There's a SHIELD surveillance team on the roof across the road and I'd prefer them not to hear this conversation! OK?" She removed her hand from Jane's mouth and they went inside just like she said.

After two hours, 3 more beers and the last blueberry pop tart Darcy had briefly explained her life to Jane and put her to bed. She hoped she would never have to explain her life again in that much detail (Even though she barely grazed upon what happened in the red room) explaining how she got to America took a long time, especially with Jane asking questions (her scientific curiosity got the better of her sometimes). Jane took it well all things considered, not once actively condemning Darcy for her actions; she was more interested in Darcy's CS skills and aptitude for languages.

The rattling of the door broke Daria out of her reverie, quickly grabbing the knife that was strapped to her inner thigh ,under her purple tunic dress, she moved to the end of the sofa with a clear view point of the door. She covered the small dagger between her hands and turned her head to focus on the TV which was currently running a documentary program on Penguins.

"Darcy come on I know you're in there can you open the door for me my hands are full!" Jane called through the door. She jumped off the sofa to help Jane. She checked the peephole to make sure it was really Jane before opening the door. She still had her knife in her hand when Jane came through the door, laden with shopping bags.

Jane noticed the knife and rolled her eyes "Seriously could you put the knife down and help me bring the bags in!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Darcy harrumphed stretching her back to put away the last box of pop tarts on the top shelf. For one of the most intelligent people Darcy had ever met she seemed to pick the least healthy things to eat for when she was on a science bender. She always made sure to put one box of pop tarts on the top shelf next to a jar of instant coffee so Jane always had supplies for science benders (Caffeine and sugar a happy scientist makes).

After the dark elves invasion and the fall of SHIELD Thor decided to stay on Earth with Jane to keep her safe and be on hand if any of the Avengers needed his help. Little did he know he didn't need to worry about Jane's safety if Darcy was with her.

"Darcy, I just got a call from Thor, he said he'll be back in an hour." Jane called from the living room, the TV blaring in the background. She had left Darcy to finish unpacking the rest of the bags when an equation popped into her head.

Darcy slumped down and wandered into the living room. 'Right so an hour to figure out how the hell I'm supposed to tell Thor I'm a rogue assassin who can hack her way into a government agency in record time…..'

"You sure that you want to tell him today, I mean you could wait until tomorrow morning if it makes it easier." Jane inquired, removing her gaze from the whiteboard in front of her to look at Darcy.

She sat down at the table near where Jane was working, pulling her leg up she clasped her knee with her hands, resting her chin on top. "It won't be easy to tell him so why put it off any longer than necessary. I just need to figure out how to tell him without him summoning lightning or throwing myeuh-myeuh at me." Darcy sighed out.

"I'm sure he won't react like that, I didn't and this probably won't be as shocking to Thor as it was to me. Just figure out a way to …well …sort of show him your skills so that when he asks it won't be such a shock to him." Jane responded, capping her pen after finishing her equation.

She sat down in front of Darcy, considering how often she forgets to shower and feed herself she was very good at giving insightful advice to Darcy. Darcy often thought Jane was very good at giving advice because she approached it like a problem that needed solving. "Thanks, that's actually kind of helpful." She hummed out.

"That's what I'm here for, well actually I'm here for astrophysics and inter galaxy travel, but you know what I mean."

"I always do." Darcy replied with a smile. She got up from her seat at the table and walked to the kitchen. "And I think I have an idea on how to tell him." She smirked squatting down to open one of the lower cabinets in the kitchen where she kept her targets for knife throwing. Grabbing them out she headed back to the living room to put them up before changing into her workout gear. She walked round her bed to get to her bedside table; Darcy yanked the draw open and lifted up the false bottom to grab her throwing knives.

Darcy walked back into the living room with her leather pack of throwing knifes. Picking up her targets she hung them up in various places all around the room.

"So you've decided what you're going to do then?" Jane asked from her seat at the table where she was drinking a cup of coffee.

"Yeah, I'm getting a little rusty thought I'd try my throwing knives out again." She laughed whilst opening up the leather pack and taking out the smallest knife.

"Just as long as you don't break anything go ahead." Jane nodded and took a sip of her drink.

30 minutes later Jane was on her second cup of coffee. Darcy decided to listen to her iPod whilst throwing her knives to drown out Jane's gasps and hisses whenever Darcy looked like she was coming close to breaking something (When really she could have gone a lot closer without breaking anything).

The sound of the door unlatching caught Darcy's attention, she whipped her head round pulled her arm back and released the knife in her grasp.

The knife lodged itself in the door frame half an inch above Thor's head. 'Crap that was probably not the best idea in the world'

"Darcy! What the hell?" Jane shouted whilst jumping up from the table.

"Oh crap, sorry Thor I kind of got carried away." She apologised whilst ripping the headphones out of her ears.

"Tis alright Darcy you did not wound me." Thor replied confusedly whilst pulling the knife out of the door frame and walking further into the room. He flipped the knife over in his palm. "It's a very nice knife, well balanced. Where did you learn this skill?" Thor inquired.

Jane sat on the sofa in front of Darcy her head in her hands. Darcy calmed her face putting away her iPod and sheathing the knife in her other hand. "You should probably sit down; this will be a lot to take in."

Thor nodded and sat down next to Jane. "For a start throwing knives isn't the only thing that I can do but I'll tell you about that another time."

Darcy pulled a chair from the table and sat down in front of Thor and Jane. Sighing she started her explanation. "Jane knows most of what I'm about to tell you and she has done for about two years now. She's kept it a secret for me and I'm very thankful for that, heck knows what would have happened if SHIELD found out."

She took a deep breath and started her story (edited story).

"I was originally from a small village in Russia where I lived in an orphanage; my first memory is of the dorm room the girls shared. I'm older than I look, by how much I don't know. Anyway, one night some men broke into the orphanage and took all the young girls with them… I was one of the girls they took with them.

"They put us through tests and …procedures to see who was strong enough for their plans. I guess I was what they were looking for. They took the remaining girls and trained us. They wanted us to be the best weapon they could make us and we were. The stuff they made us do, it's what nightmares are made of."

Darcy let out a breath and shook her head "I don't remember a great deal of it. I got my way out with the skills they gave me. That life's behind me now." She straightened up in the chair. "I understand if you hate me and want me to leave, I can be gone within the hour. But I want you to know that I didn't want to offend you by lying to you. I kind of forgot how nice it was to have friends." She scratched her head.

"There is no need to fret, Heimdall warned me that you were not as you seemed." Thor bowed his head to look in Darcy's eyes. "You have kept Jane safe in my absence, you have earned my trust and I am happy to call you a friend and ally."

Jane let out a relieved laugh "I told you so!"

"Thank you for taking it so well" Darcy smirked. "So did you have a good meeting with Captain Rogers?"

The conversation soon strayed off into the land of science so Darcy decided to clean up before helping prep dinner (order take out). The cool shower helped clear her frazzled brain and nerves. She'd really let her training slip whilst she was with Jane not just physically but mentally too.

She changed into a pair of leggings and an oversized sweater and headed into the empty kitchen. Thor and Jane were still in the living room. "Jane are you going to return from the land of science to order or do you want me to order for you?" She called from the kitchen whilst picking up a take out menu.

"Darcy can you come in here a sec? Thor's got some big news" Jane shouted from the living room. Darcy backtracked into the living room.

"What's up?" She asked plopping down onto the sofa the opposite end to Thor; he turned to her and smiled.

"Captain Rogers has told us on behalf of the man of Iron that he has offered us a place to stay at Avengers tower in New York. He has also offered Jane lab space and a Job." He beamed.

"That's great news! Are you going to go?" Darcy smiled back.

Jane huffed and rolled her eyes (She seemed to do that a lot around Darcy). "You'd be coming with us Darcy!"

"To New York. To Avengers tower! Seriously?" Darcy replied incredulously.

'Just when I think my life can't get any stranger'.

"Lady Potts will be expecting our arrival in several days if we accepted the offer." Thor responded beaming.

"New York …right. So Chinese or Indian for dinner?" She inquired holding up two different menus.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three:

"Jane have you packed the oscilloscope yet?" Darcy yelled from her bedroom where she was removing her weapons stash from the false back to her wardrobe.

"Yes I packed it with the solar flare monitor an hour ago. Are you nearly ready our flights in two hours?" Jane said popping her head through the door. Her eyes widen at the arrangement of weapons, fake ID's, foreign currency and disguises laid out on the bed. "Wow that's a lot. You do realise we are going to an airport right?" She questioned.

"You say that as if you don't think I've done this before." Darcy laughed whilst packing her things into a duffle bag. "Plus we're going on a Stark Industries plane with a literal god and avenger I don't think they'll question it too much!" She smirked.

"Are you coming straight to the tower with us when we land or are you touring round New York like you did when we came here?" Jane questioned, picking up a collapsed bo staff between her index finger and thumb. "What is this?"

"It's a collapsible bo staff." Darcy replied taking the staff from Jane's fingers and gave it a strong flick with her wrist to expand it to its real length. Jane's eyes widened. "I have a safe house/apartment already set up in Brooklyn for when I get there, but if you want me to come with you and Thor to the tower I'll be more than happy to accompany you." She smiled.

"Great, the car should arrive soon." Jane beamed. She turned around to leave but suddenly launched herself at Darcy capturing her in a hug. Darcy tensed under Jane's arms before slowly relaxing her muscles and patting Jane's Back. "I'm glad you said yes, you didn't have to." Jane whispered.

"I know."

"No I don't just mean now, I'm glad you stayed after New Mexico. You didn't have to, you said yourself it would be more dangerous for me if you stayed. But when I asked, you stayed. You've looked after me for nearly two years. You may be the strangest friend I've had but you're the best friend I've ever had-" Jane's eyes were becoming glassy.

Uncomfortable at the emotional turn this conversation was taking Darcy intervened "getting emotional on me now Foster, how much sleep did you get?" she laughed. It had the desired effect. Jane rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Right, you don't like emotional conversations sorry." She laughed sheepishly, removing her arms from around Darcy. "I just wanted to say thank you for everything." Jane patted her arm and left the room.

Darcy sighed, packing the rest of her things into the duffle bag on her bed. She massaged her temple and took a last look around the room. 'It'll be nice to have my own space again' She mused.

Sharing a living space was taxing on Darcy; being subjected to physical contact, lack of privacy, geniuses that stay up into the early hours of the morning and the underlying worry that someone would find her and hurt Jane to get to her.

But the worst undoubtedly was the nightmares. Darcy tried to control them, only sleeping when necessary and for the shortest amount of time she could. They often turned violent if she slept too long and let the memories play out. She was deathly scared that she would hurt Jane so she took sleeping pills before she slept and set an alarm to wake her when they would lose their effect.

Over the past year she had been staying with Jane she got roughly 6 hours of sleep on a good night. 'At least Jane will be safe from me when I'm sleeping' she thought. She heard the doorbell ring breaking her out of her musings. She heaved her bag onto her shoulder and left her bedroom shutting the door behind her.

"Wow!" Jane giggled.

Darcy tipped her head back to behold the Stark jet that was taxiing down the runway in front of them.

"You can say that again!" Darcy laughed.

Jane, Thor and Darcy stood on the airstrip with their luggage sat around them. Darcy had her duffle bag and laptop bag over her shoulder and her suitcase at her feet. Thor had a large suitcase containing his Asgardian armour next to his feet Mjolnir in one hand and his other hand in Jane's, her bags spread around them.

The plane came to a stop in front of them, the stairs lowering. They stood there staring for what seemed like 10 minutes. A man with cropped dishwater blonde hair stood at the top of the stairs, he was of medium height with seriously muscled arms and a smirk on his face. Darcy surreptitiously patted the knife concealed inside her belt.

"Are you going to get on the plane or not?" He called from the top of the stairs.

Jane snapped out of her daze and picked up her bags flinging them over her shoulder and dragging Thor with her towards the plane. Darcy shook her head and dragged her suitcase behind her, quickening her pace to catch up with Jane and Thor.

"It is good to see you friend the man of Iron did not tell us we would be accompanying you" Thor beamed when they reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Well I just finished a mission in Hungary so it's kind of on the way back" he deadpanned.

Jane released Thor's hand so she could carry her bags up the stairs. The man looked down to Jane with her two bags, then to Thor who only had a suitcase and finally Landed on Darcy who had her large suitcase in one hand oversized duffle bag slung over her shoulder and laptop bag strung over her shoulder her glasses skewed.

"Do you need any help with that?" He called smirk still in place. Darcy smirked readjusting her glasses replying "Thanks but I've got it!" before picking her suitcase up by side handle and easily carrying it up the stairs towards the mystery man.

"After you" the mystery man said when she reached the top of the stairs. Ushering them into the plane they put their bags down at the back of the plane and sat down on a plush couch around a table.

"I'm Clint by the way" The mystery man – Clint – said sticking his hand out to Darcy she hesitantly shook his calloused hand. "Darcy the intern" she smiled dropping his hand, her cover of intern slipping back into place. She flicked her eyes over Clint's form discreetly. His muscled arms, calloused hands and direct connection to the avengers led her to believe that he was the infamous archer Hawkeye. The strange tan patterns on his arms that matched the shapes of armguards proved it.

"You must be Jane Foster then" Clint said offering his hand to Jane who was sat next to Thor on the opposite side of the table from him. "Hi" Jane shook his hand and smiled.

Thor soon struck up a conversation between Clint about the gym facilities in Stark tower. Jane downed the cup of coffee that the air steward brought them when they arrived. "Did you bring my notebook with you?" she asked as soon as she finished her drink

Darcy fished it out of her laptop bag along with her iPod. "Of course I brought your notebook, what kind of assistant would I be if I didn't?" she chuckled passing it onto Jane.

Jane smiled "You should probably go to sleep it's a long flight, I can wake you before we get there if you want?"

Darcy shook her head still smiling "nah I'll just listen to my iPod whilst you work." She leant back in her chair watching Jane.

She pressed play on her 'of course you don't need to sleep playlist' which mainly consisted of rock and pop songs that you would never be able to fall asleep to.

As the sounds of ACDC flooded her ears she looked out the window to see the rapidly disappearing sights of London.

"We'll be ready for landing at LaGuardia airport shortly, could you please return to your seats for landing, thank you." The pilot addressed over the intercom.

Darcy snapped her tired eyes open. The intercom was loud enough to be heard over her music which had reached the quiet songs Darcy had put in to mix up the tempo of the playlist. She sat up from her slumped position in her chair. Her body was so tired she had almost fallen asleep right next to Jane.

The landing was smooth onto the LaGuardia runway.

Darcy never thought she would miss America but in the time she had been away in London she found she had missed it deeply. New York was the only home she had ever come to know.

The sight of the New York skyline through the round plane window was a very welcome sight. Darcy sighed in happiness to be back in the place where she felt most at ease. She tried to stifle a yawn her eyes stayed as open as they could.

"Are you sure you won't stay at the tower tonight Darce? You look pretty whacked." Jane queried standing up with Darcy to grab her bags from the back of the plane. Darcy shook her head and rubbed her face. Thor came to join them slinging Jane's bags over his shoulder. He looked no worse for wear after being on a seven hour flight.

"I'm sure the man of iron has a spare bed that you could use tonight." Thor stated a smile plastered onto his face.

Darcy smiled back "it's only four o'clock I'll come with you and help unpack the lab. It's better to stay awake until a decent bedtime then go to sleep, quickest way to get rid of jet lag and I think if I stay still for any longer I'm going to fall asleep."

"Alright but if you look like you're about to face plant in the lab you're going to stay the night got it?" Jane commanded.

"Says the person who usually falls asleep on her work." Darcy smirked walking down the plane steps into the sun of late afternoon New York. A car was waiting at the bottom of the stairs. The driver was stood outside of it talking to Clint. When they got to the bottom of the stairs the driver took their bags and stowed them inside of the boot.

"I just got off the phone with Stark he said you're rooms are ready and we're ordering in Thai for dinner." Clint said getting into the passenger side of the car next to the driver. Thor, Jane and Darcy all squeezed into the back of the car.

The car journey was quiet all the way to the tower. Darcy spent the whole of it looking out of the window at the city she loves.

"Oh my god!" Jane breathed out, her eyes looking out of her window.

"What are you…oh" Darcy's mouth fell open at the sight in front of them. A gargantuan glass skyscraper filled the front windshield; it was one of the most beautiful buildings Darcy had ever seen. All swooping lines and bright light reflected off of the glass panelling, at the top a large A was emblazoned on the side of the building.

"We're here."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four:

They got out of the car and took their bags out from the back of the car. They stayed silent whilst walking into the building, trying to take in all of its immenseness. Darcy gazed up at the ceiling high above her it was so tall it made you feel miniscule. The lobby was quiet; the only sound was that of heels tapping along the floor.

Darcy looked back down and saw the smiling face of Miss Pepper Potts. Darcy's eyes widened in shock. Miss Potts was one of the most serene people Darcy had ever seen.

"Agent Barton did your mission go well?" She asked kindly looking at agent Barton.

"Yes ma'am." Barton smirked.

"Nice to see you again Thor." She smiled.

"Aye it is a pleasure to see you again Lady Potts." Thor beamed whilst enveloping her in a hug, Pepper awkwardly patted his shoulder.

"It's wonderful to see you in person Dr Foster." Miss Potts beamed sticking her hand out to Jane once Thor released her. Jane was still in shock so Darcy elbowed her in the ribs; she stumbled forward and took Pepper's hand. "It's great to meet you too Miss Potts. Thank you for offering us a place to stay" Jane smiled.

"It's our pleasure; honestly it will be nice to have two more girls to even out the numbers." Pepper laughed releasing Jane's hand and turning to Darcy. "And you must be Dr Foster's assistant, Darcy Lewis." She smiled whilst sticking her slender hand out to Darcy.

"Yes I am, it's an honour to meet you Miss Potts. I wrote a paper on your work as CEO of SI for my political science degree, you're amazing." Darcy gushed whilst shaking Miss Potts hand.

"Thank you and please call me Pepper. If you don't mind me asking how did a Political science major end up working for an astrophysicist?" She inquired a small smile stretching the corners of her mouth.

"She was the only applicant." Jane interjected with a fond smile on her face.

"Ah, anyway you must be tired I'll show you to your rooms and the labs, Thor seen as you've been here before I'm sure you and Barton can entertain yourselves until I've finished with the tour." She stated

Thor kissed Jane's cheek and took her bag with him and Barton to the elevator.

"Now let's get on with the tour so you can relax and freshen up before dinner. I apologize in advance for anything offensive Tony says or does." She says whilst walking towards the elevator.

The elevator was reminiscent of the glass elevator in Charlie and the chocolate factory. So far everything that Darcy had seen of the building took her breath away, it was a testament to the architect how beautiful the building was considering all she had seen was the lobby and the elevator.

"Good afternoon Dr Foster and Miss Lewis." Darcy froze and surreptitiously looked around the elevator trying to find the person the voice came from but it was only Pepper and Jane inside the elevator. Jane looked equally as puzzled but Pepper seemed unfazed by the mysterious voice.

"Oh that's JARVIS he's the A.I. that makes sure everything runs smoothly through the building." Pepper explained in return to the unasked question. Darcy's lips quirked up at the corner.

The elevator stopped and the door opened on a new level. Pepper walked along a corridor and Darcy and Jane quickly followed her. The corridor had glass walls either side of it that looked out onto what looked like laboratories.

"This level is where your lab is situated; your lab will be next to Dr Banner's and opposite from Tony's workshop." Pepper smiled whilst placing a key card on a patch next to the door handle and pressing her hand on top of it afterwards. She gave the key card she used to Jane and an identical one to Darcy.

"Here are your key cards to get into the lab; there is also a fingerprint scanner to get in which should recognise your fingerprints by the end of the day." She said whilst opening the door to the lab.

"And this is your lab."

The lab took up what looked like a quarter of that floor. The dwindling sunlight from the floor to ceiling windows glinted off of a large metal desk with three clear screens around it, there was an exact replica of it facing Dr Banner's lab. All of the large scientific equipment that Jane had sent in advance was in cardboard boxes on a workbench in the middle of the room.

Jane slowly walked into the room, Darcy and Pepper stayed near the door letting the scientist get acquainted with her new lab. "There is a set of protocols that you can set in place if you need to limit Dr Foster's work hours, only you or I would be able to change the protocols. I'm not sure whether it's just Tony and Bruce that need reminding about normal human functions or it's just a mad scientist problem." She smirked in a quiet voice.

Darcy smirked back "That sounds very useful; whenever Jane does science without sleeping for a couple of days her math tends to go …um what's the word..."

"Skewed." Pepper supplied.

"Something like that." She laughed. "Better show her to her room before she gets too settled, I do not want to deal with a sleep deprived jet lagged Jane tomorrow."

"Right let's show you to your rooms, they are on one of the upper private floors." Pepper remarked loudly enough to get Jane's attention. She walked with Darcy out of the lab, Jane following reluctantly.

"Dr Foster said that you had your own accommodation in the city; please feel free to stay here tonight or any night if it's too much of a trek to get to your residence." Pepper said, covertly asking about Darcy's accommodation.

"I'm staying in an apartment in Brooklyn which I should probably go and settle into once Jane's finished settling into her rooms and unpacked the lab equipment." Darcy remarked seeing that it was reach five o'clock on her watch.

"Please stay for dinner it's the least we could do since you've been on a transatlantic flight and your apartments all the way in Brooklyn." Pepper requested touching the top of Darcy's shoulder in a reassuring gesture.

"Um …ok maybe it depends what time it is. Plus there's this little Italian place down the street that does take outs that I wanted to try out the last time I was here. Also I don't think jetlagged me would be the best way to introduce myself to the rest of the avengers" Darcy responded unsurely.

"That's ok I remember how daunting it was the first time I met all of the Avengers together but really they're just a big bunch of lovable weirdo's that you get used to." She laughed, her voice showing affection.

"Well it can't be worse than our first meeting with Thor can it?" Jane said coming up behind Darcy and patting the duffel bag on her back.

"I guess not" Darcy laughed pulling her suitcase behind her.

"Oh I'm so sorry I forgot about your bags I can get someone to put them in the penthouse for you for later." Pepper apologised tapping something into her tablet whilst walking towards the elevator.

"It's alright." Darcy remarked and walked into the elevator with Pepper and Jane.

Once they got to the floor with Jane's rooms someone was outside of it waiting to take Darcy's suitcase and she reluctantly left her duffel bag with them hoping they wouldn't open it.

They walked along the corridor in a comfortable silence until they reached a plain white door.

"Here is yours and Thor's rooms Jane and here are your keys. Would you like to do the honours?" Pepper said handing Jane a silver key with a navy ribbon attached to it there was a duplicate that had a red ribbon.

Jane looked at the keys with reverence before placing the key with a red ribbon into the key hole and unlocking the door.

They stepped into the hallway of the apartment. The hallway led to a large living room with a plush leather sofa, two armchairs and an oak coffee table. Jane dropped her bags on the floor next to the coffee table and flopped down onto the sofa with a sigh.

"I'll leave you guys to it, dinners at eight o'clock in the penthouse, Just get in the elevator and tell JARVIS you're going up for dinner. See you later; it was great meeting you Jane and Darcy." Pepper smiled backing towards the door.

"I was nice meeting you Pepper I just have one question if you don't mind?" Darcy asked sheepishly keeping up the façade of a naïve college graduate.

"Of course."

"JARVIS doesn't record inside the rooms does he?" She asked.

"No he only records in the labs or if you ask him to on specific occasions, why?" She replied nonchalantly.

"I prefer to plan my murders in private." Darcy deadpanned.

"She's joking." Jane said poking her head over the sofa before turning back around and mumbling "I hope."

"I'll see you later." Pepper laughed at Darcy's warped sense of humour and left the room. As soon as she left Jane whipped her head round and glared at her intern. Darcy smiled back innocently sitting down next to her on the sofa.

"What?" she asked.

"Really Darcy a murder joke, you do know spies/assassins/super people live here right? This probably isn't the best place to joke about murder." Jane glared before rolling her eyes exasperatedly.

"Well I may as well get Pepper used to my sense of humour, she thinks I'm an innocent college graduate… the sooner I change that the better. What are you laughing at?" Darcy replied whilst Jane chuckled quietly.

"Oh nothing it's just that you're definitely not an innocent college graduate, I didn't think you were innocent when we were in New Mexico before everything." Waving her hand Jane replied lolling her head onto Darcy's shoulder.

"That's probably because you were on the receiving end of a lot of my sarcasm, dark humour and death threats when you wouldn't stop science." Darcy pointed out.

"We had some good times, although I've got to say the death threats were a bit more convincing after I found out about your skills." Jane said avoiding using the A word (Assassin) she didn't like to think that her friend had killed people even though she had.

"We did didn't we." She sighed looking at her watch and groaned. "If you want help unpacking the lab we better do it soon, I don't want you staying up half the night unpacking it." At the mention of their brand new lab Jane jumped up from the sofa and pulled Darcy along behind her.

Jane locked the door behind them and put the key with the red ribbon in her pocket and gave the navy one to Darcy. "Here just in case you need somewhere to crash or I lose my key. There's a guest bedroom and Thor already has his key." She smiled warm heartedly; Darcy hugged her quickly in a rare show of affection. They then headed down to the lab.

Darcy's eyes were sore and tired when seven fifty came around. She cleaned her glasses and picked herself up from the floor where she was installing a piece of equipment in to the tower.

"Jane it's nearly eight o'clock we can finish off in the morning. I'd quite like to go to my apartment." Darcy almost whined.

"Just a little longer." Jane said distractedly from the swivel chair she was sat on.

"No way, it's your first night at the tower as your friend I'm going to have to insist you go and eat with the avengers." Darcy replied sternly whilst pushing Jane's swivel chair towards the door before sticking her foot in front of it to stop it. Jane jumped out of the chair to stop herself from falling out of it, she glared when she realised she was in the corridor.

"JARVIS Can you lock Jane out of the lab until at least ten thirty tomorrow or when I get here?" She asked whilst shutting the door to the lab and waiting for the click noise of it locking.

"Of course Miss Lewis." JARVIS replied.

Darcy smirked at Jane whilst she glared back. They walked to the elevator and relayed the message Pepper told them, soon enough the elevator doors opened up onto a large open area. There was a sunken part to the floor where Pepper, Thor, Clint and who Darcy assumed where The hulk/Dr Banner, Tony Stark/Iron man and Captain America/Steve Rogers.

"Jane and Darcy are here." Pepper said standing up to talk to them. Everyone's heads perked up. Thor grinned at them from his seat next to Clint. Jane walked toward the seating area and meeting Pepper half way.

"Hi Pepper." Darcy said smiling folding her arms over her chest in a slightly defensive stance.

"I'm glad to see you managed to get out of the lab, Thor said we might have to remind you about dinner." She smiled back.

"No Darcy managed to trick me out the lab in time." Jane replied with a playful glare.

"I'm well practiced." Darcy replied snarkily. Pepper laughed whilst walking back with them to the seating area.

"Well I hope you're hungry we ordered a lot of food." She smiled.

"I was actually just going to head home I came to pick my bags up and drop off Jane" Darcy replied tiredly.

"Ok well at least say hello first." Pepper insisted.

"Alright." Darcy smiled following Pepper and Jane. She smiled at Thor and Clint. Jane looked excited, she walked down the steps to the seats and stood awkwardly at the bottom near Thor.

Pepper sat down next to Tony with Dr Banner awkwardly on her right, Steve Rogers was sat next to Clint and Thor. "This is Dr Foster and her assistant Miss Lewis." She introduced them seen as they hadn't.

"Hi" Darcy replied, awkwardly waving her hand at them. Jane still hadn't made a noise so Darcy knocked her elbow into Jane's arm.

"Sorry it's just an honour to meet you I'm a huge fan of yours Dr Banner I've read all your work." Jane replied nervously, Darcy refrained from face palming.

"I… uh… thanks your work on the Einstein- Rosen bridge and wormhole theories are very fascinating Dr Foster." Dr Banner replied nervously putting his hand out to Jane.

"It's Just Jane." She said, taking his hand and shaking it.

"Bruce."

Tony cleared his throat. "Well that wasn't awkward"

"It's nice to meet you Mr Stark." Jane smiled whilst awkwardly sitting down next to him on the larger sofa which left a space for Darcy next to Captain Rogers.

"Likewise and Mr Stark was my father call me Tony." He replied.

Jane carried on talking to Tony, Bruce and Pepper. Darcy turned her attention to Thor, Clint and Steve.

"Hi I'm Darcy, Jane's assistant/babysitter." She introduced herself to Steve smiling, sticking her hand out.

"It's nice to meet you Darcy, I'm Steve Rogers." Steve said his large warm hand enclosing her petite one.

"I know, Thor told me about his 'Shield brother Steven'." Darcy replied impersonating Thor's voice, eliciting a laugh from Steve a deep chuckle from Thor and a snort from Clint.

"Am I getting any better at it?" Darcy questioned Thor.

"Aye, it was better than last time." Thor beamed. Thor and Clint carried on their previous conversation. Leaving Steve and Darcy to talk.

"So…" She said awkwardly.

"So" He replied.

"Do you live at the tower?" Darcy asked not knowing what else to ask. Steve seemed to pick up on her unease.

"I do but I have an apartment out in Brooklyn which I stay in sometimes. What about you are you staying in the tower?" He questioned rifling his hand through his short blond hair, she smiled. His Blue eyes looked at her face without taking any detours that some peoples may have.

"I actually have an apartment in Brooklyn to. I needed a bit of space from Thor and Jane. Not that there's anything wrong with living with them." She quickly interjected. "Well not unless you like third wheeling a lot of the time or always running out of food." She added smiling, he laughed again.

"So what do you do in your spare time Darcy?" he asked leaning forward.

"I read a lot." She replies with a smile, her phone pings and she quickly looks at the message. Her smile brightened her tired face.

"Something exciting?" Steve smirked.

"Yeah just got a text from the storage place I was using for my bike telling me what locker it was moved to." She smiled wistfully, she had missed being able to ride her bike when she was in London. Steve looked surprised.

"You ride a bike as in a motorbike?" He questioned.

"Yeah, So?" Darcy replied slightly defensively.

"Nothing it's just I ride a bike as well." He defended.

"Really that's so cool what bike do you have?" She asked eagerly.

"I've got a Harley Davidson what about you?" He said happily finding middle ground.

"My Baby's a black Ducati." Darcy smirked remembering winning her in a bet. Their conversation was interrupted by JARVIS announcing the food to be here.

"And that's my cue to leave." Darcy said glancing at her watch and wincing at the time. Darcy caught Jane's attention by tapping her on the arm. "See you tomorrow morning." she said in leeway of a goodbye.

"You're going?" Jane asked.

"Yeah I want to unpack before I go to bed. It was great meeting you all." Darcy smiled. Before waving to all of them and reciprocating the various goodbyes.

"Do you want me to escort you home?" Steve asked chivalrously.

"I'm ok thanks" She smirked before picking up her bags and heading to the elevator.

Unbeknownst to Darcy Just as she was leaving the lobby of the tower Natasha Romanoff was walking in from the opposite end of the entrance. Darcy hailed down a cab and plugged her headphones in for the long journey.

She paid the cab driver and hauled her luggage towards the abandoned apartment complex that wasn't as abandoned as people thought. Darcy 'bought' the abandoned complex when she first got to New York before she started college as a safe house in case her dorm room became compromised. She refurbished the penthouse level so that it was one large apartment with a training area in. It was perfect for Darcy.

She unlocked the door and reset the security system before taking the still functioning elevator to the top floor. She let herself into the familiar room and breathed in a sigh of relief at finally being able to sleep without the fear of hurting someone other than herself.

She was home….well as close as she was going to get.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Italics are flash backs

Chapter five:

Natasha point of view

She walked through the dark streets of New York towards the bright lights of Stark (Avengers) tower. The blonde hair of her wig and the lenses in her glasses reflecting the lights of the buildings above her. The noise of her heels clacking on the pavement was overpowered by the sounds of the cars passing her.

She was content to be back in New York after having to rebuild her covers after what happened in DC. She would be safe from Congress behind the legion of lawyers Stark industries have. Her phone bleeped.

Take out's here where are you? - CB

She tapped a reply in whilst still walking.

I'll be there in a couple of minutes make sure they don't eat all the food :) – NR

She walked towards the entrance of Stark tower, her eyes caught on the site of a woman leaving from the other end of the entrance weighed down with bags. She had long curly brown hair with a purple beanie covering the top. She was wearing a grey suede jacket, black skinny jeans and folded down military boots. Natasha carried on walking toward the entrance when the woman turned around to hail a cab.

Natasha stopped dead. The woman's face was as familiar as Natasha's own reflection. But that wasn't possible. The woman climbed into the cab with all her luggage and left.

She slowly made her way into the lobby of the tower. Shaking her head she told herself that she was just a look alike. She couldn't be the girl she had cared for because she had died. And it was All Natasha's fault.

'The hair colour was all wrong and so where the glasses and her accent and her hair was never curly either…' Natasha stopped herself before she got too far. 'There was no way it could have been her so stop thinking it'.

She walked into the elevator at the back of the lobby and pressed the button for the top floor. She calmed herself and set her emotions aside.

"Good evening Agent Romanoff, I trust you had a safe journey." JARVIS asked when she was in the elevator.

"Yes it was JARVIS thank you." She said whilst taking the blonde wig off her head and unravelling the twist her hair was in, letting the crimson curls rest around her shoulders. Removing her glasses and the tall heels she was wearing she put them into her bag; taking out the pair of black flats she always kept in there and put them on. She decided her black power suit would just have to do until she could get changed later.

"Would you like me to tell them you're here?" JARVIS asked.

Nat smirked "Nah I think I'll surprise them." She replied.

The elevator opened up onto the penthouse floor, the aroma of Thai food hitting her nose when she walked in. It seemed that all of the avengers were there along with who she guessed was Dr Jane Foster by the way Thor was looking at her lovingly.

"Hey" She called when she got out of the elevator, she received waves and various hellos from the people sat around. She grabbed the plate of food Clint had put out for her and sat down next to him.

"How was your flight?" He asked through a mouthful of food. She rolled her eyes and finished her mouthful of food before answering him.

"Bumpy how was Budapest?" She asked remembering the last time they were there.

"Colder. London was good though from what I got to see from the airport." He replied sarcastically. Nat shrugged looking down at her food. She was more shook up by the woman from the lobby than she was willing to let on. She kicked off her flats and sat cross legged on the sofa.

She sighed and ran her hand through her hair ruffling the loose curls. Clint looked at her from the corner of his eyes. "What's up?" he asked quietly.

"I'm just glad to be back." She said smiling at him, avoiding telling him about her encounter with a ghost. Clint could tell that that wasn't all that was on her mind. If she wanted to talk about it Clint knew she would sooner or later.

She finished her meal and turned to Dr Foster to introduce herself before going to bed. She stuck her hand out "Hi Dr Foster isn't it?" She asked in lieu of a greeting.

"Call me Jane." She smiled taking her hand.

"Natasha. It's nice to finally meet you; maybe I'll see you round the tower." She smiled standing up and taking her bag with her ready for a long hot shower and then her bed in her own apartment, ready to forget what she saw today.

"Night guys." She called before walking to the elevator.

"Night Tasha." Clint called from the sofa.

"Hey Nat are you up for sparring tomorrow?" Steve asked leaning his head over the sofa.

She turned around "Sure what time?"

"Eight o'clock sound alright to you?"

"Got it." She replied before stepping in the waiting elevator and heading to her apartment ready to scrub the horrible airplane feeling off of her.

-Natasha POV -

_The soft sounds of crying woke Natalia from her light sleep. She had been at the red room for just over a year and half now although it seemed much longer. This usually happened when the brought a new batch of girls in. The sniffling came from the bed next to hers. The girl was bundled at the top of the rock solid cot._

_Natalia put her head back on the pillow but couldn't go back to sleep. Huffing she silently slid out of her bed. The guard on the door was sitting against the door lazily, She rolled her eyes at his stupidity. She rearranged the pillows in her bed to look like a person and pulled the sheet up over the top._

_She sat on the floor next to the bed and tapped the little girls shoulder, "Hey, move over." She whispered. The little girl picked her blond head up. Her bright blue eyes glassy with tears. She moved over in shock lifting the sheet over the top of them. _

"_Who are you?" The little girl asks timidly looking at the red head. _

"_I'm Natalia, what's your name?" She responds looking her in the eyes._

"_Daria." She sniffled wiping her eyes with her small hand. Natalia must have only been a year or two older than her._

"_You shouldn't cry, they see it as a sign of weakness they'll be harder on you." Natalia stated, Daria nodded her head in reply._

"_Have they injected you with anything yet?" she asks slowly trying to make sure she knew what she meant, she mimed injecting something in her arm. She shook her head slowly. "No they took blood I think." She replied her lip quivering._

"_Good you can go in prepared." She replied, holding Daria's chin to stop her from crying sobbing again._

"_Don't show any emotion when they do stuff to you, it's better not to show anything they won't be able to use it against you. You got that?" She asked waiting for Daria to nod in reply._

"_That will be the only way you can get through this." She said sadly. She peeked under the sheet to see if the guard was looking, he was still sat against the door. She slipped out from under the blanket but was stopped when a small hand squeezed her shoulder. She turned around to see Daria smiling at her sadly._

Natasha woke with a start clasping her hunting knife tightly in her grasp underneath her pillow. She could still feel the pressure of Daria's hand on her shoulder. She sucked in a deep stuttering breath. Sweat poured down her face and shoulders. This was the first time she had had a flashback of Daria since she had left the red room.

Natasha got up out of her bed and went into the living room where she could hear the rain pattering on the window. She grabbed her suitcase from the hall and pulled out her wash kit and went into the shower to wash the memories away.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six:

**AN: To answer the guest's question yes she does know Natasha and to answer ealasaiduna Natasha isn't dating Steve and the bond Natasha and Clint have is a very deep emotional bond.**

**Trigger warning for PTSD flashback**

Darcy walks into the spacious room and sets her bags down on the old threadbare sofa -which she had gotten from a flea market- which was next to the window looking out onto the street. She looked around at the large room, a reinforced wall sectioned off her training area leaving the rest of the top floor for her bedroom, living room and kitchen. Half of her living room was covered in monitors which were connected to her security systems and all them had a self-destruct protocol written into the coding.

She walked into her kitchen making herself a cup of tea to calm her before sleeping. She put her iPod on and started checking the cupboards and making a list of the things she needed, rearranging the contents into a better order. She moved her block of knives into the middle of the island in her kitchen in easy reach from the entrance to the kitchen.

Her kitchen was one of Darcy's favourite parts of her flat especially the island, it had sightlines into her living room and you could see a reflection of the front door. It was a perfect hiding place in case she was attacked at her flat (Which was incredibly unlikely considering all of the precautions she had put in place); it was hollowed out and contained a varied selection of guns.

She finished making her cup of tea and moved back into the living room so she could unpack her things. She took her laptop out of the bag and hooked it up to her wall of monitors setting them up to notify her if anything happened whilst she was out.

The living room had large windows which let the darkness from outside into the room. The room smelled musty with just a hint of old sweat- which was coming from Darcy's clothing- the overall smell was one that was deathly familiar to Darcy.

Settling back onto her sofa she opened up her duffel bag and went through her things one by one. She was just starting to get into a rhythm of sorting them into piles of money, identification and weapons when she picked up one of her knives. It was a simple sleek combat knife with a dark blackish red lacquered handle. She gripped it slightly too tightly the sharp metal digging into her palms, bright red liquid dripped down the blade.

The coppery tang of blood permeated the air.

She stopped suddenly.

Utter dread filled up her senses. Her heart beat raced. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing to try and stop the barrage of memories that came with it but it was too late.

-Flashback-

_Sweat dripped down Daria's brow and into her eyes but she could not stop to wipe it away. The sounds of grunting and laboured breaths filled her ears. Her muscles were burning from exhaustion, her lip split and bleeding but she powered on through it. She could not let her win again._

_Natalia had just got back the day before from a deep cover mission which had kept her away for two months. Daria had been back from her mission in Italy for about a week now._

_They had been at it for hours now, their moves only slightly slowing. The moves were still too quick for an untrained eye to tell apart._

_Natalia thrust her elbow into her side eliciting a grunt from her. She quickly jumped backwards out of the way and fell back into a crouch swinging her leg out to catch Natalia but she flipped backwards onto her hands._

_Natalia always managed to anticipate her moves dodging, flipping and hitting back before Daria could re-evaluate and change her moves. But she was getting better. She was beginning to catch Natalia off guard, hitting quicker or moving quicker than she expected. It was Daria's only advantage._

"_Are you getting tired yet?" Natalia smirked, effectively blocking Daria's hits. She huffed out a laugh and launched her knee in to Natalia's stomach. _

"_No, are you?" She smiled when her knee impacted Natalia. Natalia hooked her leg and kicked Daria in the kidneys. Daria sucked in a deep breath and carried on fighting. _

"_Call it quits at the next death hold?" Natalia questioned whilst keeping her relentless attack going. Daria blocked the hits whilst throwing a few of her own pushing Natalia backwards._

"_Alright." Daria replied. _

_Natalia threw a kick which sent Daria backwards. She flicked her blonde hair off her face ready for the next bout of fighting, she kicked her foot up high aiming for Natalia's head. Natalia hooked her foot around Daria's back leg and caught the other and pushed it back causing Daria to fall on the floor with Natalia on top of her._

_Natalia whipped her knife out ready to end the game. _

_Daria could not let her win again._

_Before Natalia could do anything Daria flipped her over her shoulders and onto her back pinning her legs, took the knife out of her trapped arm and pressed it against her throat._

"_I win." Daria declared her face close enough to Natalia's that their handlers wouldn't be able to see what they were saying. Her hair created a curtain around them._

"_Guess you did." Natalia smiled back blowing Daria's long blonde hair off of her face. They stayed there smiling at each other for a second before Daria got up off of Natalia and gave Natalia her hand to help her up._

"_Here" Daria said handing Natalia her knife back. Natalia didn't take it back._

"_Keep it, I'll win it back at next time." She said wiping the sweat off of her brow._

"_You sure about that?" Daria smirked flipping the knife in her palm testing out the weight, walking out of the training room alongside Natalia._

She was ripped from the memory by the sound of a siren passing her. Her eyes were watering with unshed tears. Her breathing quick and erratic.

That was the last time she ever saw Natalia.

They told her that Natalia had died on a mission, something went wrong and she ended up with a bullet to the temple. Daria hadn't believed them one bit… until she saw the pictures.

Natalia's crimson curls matted into the blood coating the side of her head, her eyes open and glassy. It had been imprinted onto the back of her eyelids ever since.

Darcy had left half a year after Natalia was killed.

She hated the red room with every bone in her body. She knew that Natalia didn't die at the hands of her mark, it was the red room. She knew because the only way to get the title of the Black Widow was to kill the original. There was another red room operative walking around- in the same city as her, living in the tower she worked at- as the Black Widow.

'She must have been a coward to shoot Natalia; she doesn't deserve the title of Black Widow.' She was still gripping onto the knife the blood slowly dripping onto her coffee table. She dropped the knife and tried to mop up the blood on her jeans.

The only reason that Daria stomached being in the same city as her was because she knew that that woman had gone through the same things as her.

'It wouldn't have been her choice.' She thought bitterly 'At least she managed to get out.' Daria stood up and left the rest of her things to be unpacked tomorrow before work.

'It should have been Natalia that got out.' She thought slamming her the door to her bathroom.

She washed her cuts and bandaged them knowing that by tomorrow morning they would look like pink lines. The sting of the water in the cuts helped bring her back to the present.

She splashed the cool water on her face to calm her reddening eyes. She walked back to the living room grabbed her suitcase and took it too her bedroom. She got out the pyjamas on top and put them on.

Popping open the lid to her pot of sleeping pills she downed two and settled down to sleep. She sighed relieved that if she had a nightmare tonight (like she undoubtedly would) she wouldn't have to worry about hurting anyone.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

_There was someone in the room with Daria. She could hear their muffled breaths. Feel their movements in the room. Smell their damp boot soles._

_But she didn't care._

_They never usually woke them during the night for this. The rustling of the rough sheets on the bed next to Daria told her that she was next to be taken out. She steeled herself in preparation for the procedures ahead._

_'Maybe they've finally found a way to get rid of our emotions.' Daria thought, whilst keeping her breathing even. 'Finally a way to make a perfect soldier' She thought bitterly. The last parts of Daria that cared for anything were gone with the death of Natalia. It was almost two months since then._

_The sound of the boot soles stopping in front of her cot alerted her to the fact it was her turn. She opened her eyes to see the looming shadow of one of the scientists. His eyes had a sick and twisted gleam to them. Daria focused her icy eyes on his, holding his gaze whilst she put on her black boots. She stood up ready for their inspection. The scientist grabbed her chin and looked her face over, searching for something. He tilted her head to the side trailing his eyes over her lean body as if she were a prized racehorse._

_"This one" The scientist said, stepping backwards to let the guards past him to Daria. The guards grabbed the tops of her bare arms and led her out of the room. The cold air of the corridor hit her raising the hairs on her arms. She kept pace with the guards as they marched her down the corridor._

_They walked down the familiar corridors bypassing the room she was usually taken to. 'Where the hell are they taking me?' She kept her confusion internalized._

_The guards pushed her through a heavy metal door into a dark room. The only thing she could see was a large metal chair with thick wiring attached to it. The lights suddenly came on, illuminating the metal panelling covering the walls creating a harsh glow. The guards released her arms pushing her into the chair. She kept her back rigid and away from the seats._

_"Prep her." The scientist commanded, pacing to the other side of the room to work on a screen of some sort._

_The guards pushed her back into the seat. Metal cuffs encompassed her upper arms and wrists. Her head was pressed into a metal plate. One of the guards pressed a needle into the crease of her elbow. This was second nature to her now._

_"Stop!" The scientist commanded. The guard stopped from depressing the syringe. Daria's eyes flicked toward the scientist._

_"He should be here any minute." He said a smile spreading his lips. Daria locked her eyes with his again trying to gleam any idea about what was about to happen._

_The doors opened almost immediately after he said it._

_A middle aged man with short dirt blond hair entered the room. An entourage of scientist looking officials followed him._

_"Ah you're here just in time, we were about to start the procedure." The scientist exclaimed._

_"Go ahead I won't keep you waiting any longer." He explained in stilted Russian._

_"We had hoped to perform this procedure on the Black Widow but after her… untimely demise our plans have changed. No matter she will be better." He explained, walking over to Daria he picked up a syringe off of a tray._

_"We start the procedure with a recreation of the serum used on The Asset mixed with another serum of my own creation. It should protect the subject's neural pathways from deterioration over time. Then we will activate the serum using the chairs inbuilt systems." Daria narrowed her eyes, the scientist was purposefully leaving out information, she suspected it was because he thought she would try and escape. 'He would be right to think that' She glowered at him._

_"How long will it take until she is field ready?" The middle aged man asked curiously._

_"She should be field ready in less than an hour I predict. She will be as glorious as The Soldier." He replied a sickening smile gracing his face. Daria's spine tensed at the mention of The Soldier. His name put even the leaders of the program on edge._

_"Now we shall go ahead with the procedure." He replied._

_The chair was reclined until Daria was nearly horizontal. The scientist stood next to her head, his hand extending a mouth piece toward her. "You may want to take this." He sneered. She bit down on the piece hard, her jaw radiating with the pain._

_The sounds of electrical whirring filled her ears. Out of the corner of her eyes she could see two more metal plates moving up around her head. Before they fully enclosed her head the scientist depressed the plunger on the syringe sending the liquid fire coursing through her veins. The plates crackled with energy releasing bolt after bolt into Daria's mind._

_A bloodcurdling scream filled the air was the last thing she could make out._

Darcy woke up sweat dripping down her face, her hair sticking to her back. Her heart was pounding loudly in her ears, thrumming with power as if the electricity was still running through it.

'What the hell was that?' She thought hysterically.

She grabbed the knife under her pillow and leapt out of her bed. Her nerves were on edge, taking in every detail of the room. She stealthily walked to the door of her bedroom, listening for any sound out of the ordinary.

She opened the door to her bedroom crouching down low. She raised her knife up in a defensive position. She advanced round her rooms making sure there was nothing out of place.

There wasn't.

She let out a deep breath to try to calm her. "Who was that?" she questioned out loud feeling as if that would be the only way she could vent it. She sank to the floor and cradled her head. This was the first new memory she had had in a while.

She shivered. The electricity she felt in her memory refused to leave her body. "Oh God what did they do to me?" She asked breathlessly, tugging on her sweaty hair.

The flashes of the memory kept replaying through her mind: the serum, her hair… The chair. She jumped up and ran to the toilet. Bending over the toilet she emptied out her stomach contents, retching until there was nothing but bile left.

Shakily she got up from her crouch on the floor, leaning her head against the cold mirror above her sink. She rinsed the acid taste from her mouth and splashed cool water over her dewy face.

Walking back into her living room she checked the clock on the side. The red lights blared the number 6:27. She sat down on her sofa thinking of what she could do for the next four hours.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Darcy sat on her sofa tapping her fingers trying to focus on the TV show on her laptop. It was a futile attempt her nerves were fizzing and popping with anxious energy. Sighing Darcy shut her laptop and got up from her seat to get changed into her workout gear.

After getting changed she grabbed her running shoes, her small backpack and her iPod before locking up and leaving her apartment. The cold air of the early morning in Brooklyn filled up her lungs. She tied her hair up, put her iPod on and set off for her run.

She paced herself so she wouldn't look too quick, her feet hitting the pavement in time to the beat of the song reverberating through her ears. The release of her build up energy eased her nerves slightly making it easier for her to remember specific details from the memory. She lost herself in the even beating sounds. She let her mind wander.

'The way the scientist's eyes kept the manic gleam all the way through the procedure to the foreign man who came specifically to watch the procedure… their mention of the soldier.' The last thought made her catch her breath.

She stopped at the nearest shop that was open to buy a bottle of water before walking toward the park. The tranquil greenery surroundings calmed Darcy. She sat on a bench underneath a cherry tree.

Downing most of her water she opened up her backpack and took out a small notebook and pen. 'This is good, the more information I have the easier it will be to find out what they did and if they are still alive.' She thought to herself reassuringly.

She wrote down a list of all of the things she remembered about the room (In vague terms so no one would know what she was talking about). Detail recall being one of the only things she has made sure she kept in top condition made this easy. Unlike her fighting techniques, since she got out she made sure she learnt how to fight with many different types of weapons not just knives and guns.

She checked her iPod for the time. '9:22 huh ran for longer than I thought' Darcy mused, her lips quirking up at the side. Rooting around in the bottom of her bag she dug out and old pencil.

She dusted the top of the pencil and rested the tip on the paper. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath focusing on the image of the foreign man. She opened her eyes and concentrated on sketching his face onto the lined paper. Her hand gradually became quicker and quicker, filling in his features.

Her concentration was broken by the sounds of soft footsteps on the pavement at the edge of the park; she always kept her music quiet enough for her to hear the noises of the surroundings when she was in public. She quickly flipped to a clean page and pretended to size up the tree in front of her to draw.

The footsteps carried on getting closer. Darcy slowly sketched the tree into her notebook, her eyes sweeping the ground around her to see when the person is approaching (Most likely a man or a tall woman by the length of the stride).

The footsteps slowed and came to a stop next to her. She could see the grey running shoes from where she was looking at her notebook.

She removed her earphones asking "Can I help you?" she looked up to be met with the face of Steve Rogers. She put a smile on her face and closed her notebook, slipping into her mask perfectly.

"Good morning Miss Lewis." He smiled.

"Hi Steve and please call me Darcy it's too early in the morning and I'm way too sweaty for formalities." She laughed.

"That space free?" He questioned with a smirk. '9:34 got to go soon'

"Sure" She said sliding along the bench to make space, putting her iPod away in her pocket. She took another sip of her water so that he would have to speak.

"How did getting over your jetlag go?" He questioned awkwardly not knowing what else to say, he lent forward and rested his elbow on his knee.

"Good thanks, I just hope Jane got enough sleep before she started to science. I do not want to deal with a tired Jane." Darcy smiled, her cheeks were beginning to ache trying to keep up her happy college intern façade. She knew that it was most likely true that Jane was already trying to do something to do with science.

He smiled "Last I saw of her she and Thor were in the kitchen at about 8:50 talking to Bruce." Darcy laughed leaning back against the bench, she pulled hair tie out to keep her hands busy so she wouldn't be sat still like a statue.

"Makes sense, she was probably talking science." Darcy mused sliding her notebook into her bag. "I should probably head over there soon. Got a lot of organising to do." She said, awkwardly shuffling off of the bench until she was stood up. Steve quickly stood up as well.

"See you around I guess." Darcy stated, unravelling her earphones.

"Bye Darcy." Steve replied. She slowly turned around and was about to walk off "Your drawing was really good by the way. Not that you wouldn't be good at drawing or anything, just you …uh …it was really good." Steve said awkwardly running his hand through his short hair. Darcy's nerves were set on edge, she laughed out a quick "Thanks" over her shoulder before walking away, plugging her earphones in.

She walked out of the park and kept on walking until she could no longer see the entrance to the park before she started running again. Just to make sure she didn't have any unwanted followers. Her feet were hitting the pavement at a quicker pace than before.

'That was way too close; he could've seen the drawing. He could've seen me running. It can't happen again.' She mentally scolded herself.

She ran as fast as would like normal back to her apartment.

She unlocked her front door and got in the elevator to take her to the top floor. She was tapping her fingers along to the beat of her music. The elevator opened up and she walked out and undid the locks on her apartment door.

She took her backpack off and turned her iPod off. Strolling towards the kitchen she took off her long sleeved running shirt and toed off her trainers, putting them next to the front door. She grabbed a glass turning the tap on she filled her glass and consequently drained it gulping it down.

She checked the clock on the wall, it read 10:01. Mentally she prepared a checklist 'Shower, get changed, pick up my bike, go to work and forget all about the new memory.' She mused sardonically. She wandered through her living room to her bedroom grabbing clothes to get changed into. She picked up her towel just as her phone rang. She dropped her clothing and picked her phone up.

It was an unknown number.

She ran into her living room waking her monitors up so she could start a phone trace. Just as it was about to ring off Darcy pressed receive putting it on speakerphone.

"It's so dark out I can barely see my shadow." A lightly accented feminine voice stated in Arabic.

"Maybe she didn't want to be seen." Darcy replied instinctively, her voice slipping into Arabic like it was second nature to her.

"It's nice to hear your voice again friend, I was uncertain that you would pick up." The woman replied after a pause.

"I could say the same for you, why did you phone I gave you this for emergencies?" Darcy replied an air of suspicion entering her voice. She walked into her living room and sat at her monitor desk.

"Can't I just call and catch up; it's been nearly eight years since I last talked to you. What name do you go by now Shay? " She asked.

"It's Darcy now and I assume Isra that if this is the type of call I think it is I'll be able to tell you in person." She said matter of factly, her fingers clacked against the keyboard trying to trace the origin of the call. A sigh emanated from the other end of the phone.

"You're right. I need a favour." She said. Darcy hummed.

"Go on."

"You once told me that you had to atone for all of the bad things you had done. I don't know what those things were and I won't ask but you said one day you wanted to be able to do that." She breathed out. "If you help me on this you will be able to do that, well at least a small part of it." She added.

"I have a job and a normal life now Isra I don't want to be sucked back into that lifestyle." Darcy replied sternly, clenching her teeth at the thought.

"I promise you Shay that, if you want, after this is done the slate is clean we'll go our separate ways, never see each other again." She said putting on an air of sadness.

"Alright." She conceded "I'll be with you as soon as I can. How long do you think it will take?" she stopped the trace on the call and grabbed a pad of paper tapping a pen on top of it.

"Good, there's a flight leaving from JFK at three this afternoon for Shanghai, I'll meet you there." She replied her voice lighter. "I'll send you the details, see you later Shay." Isra hung up.

Darcy sat at her desk; she rubbed her temple with her hand and let out a long breath. "Guess I'm never going to have a normal life." She sighed. "Who wants a normal life anyway?" She laughed lightly.

It took Darcy just over an hour and a half to: shower, get changed, pack her bag and pick up her bike. Her flight would be leaving in three hours 'Just got back in the country, now I'm out again.' She thought. Her bags were waiting back at her apartment for her to pick up when she came back from talking to Jane.

She sped through the streets of New York on her bike, weaving in and out of the traffic. 'It feels good to have my baby back.' She smirked underneath her helmet. Her hair whipped back in the wind.

She slowed her bike as she pulled into a parking space near the tower that was just about big enough for her bike. She kicked the stand on and slipped off her bike, her thick military boots hit the asphalt. She pulled her helmet off releasing her thick mass of hair.

She passed through the lobby, showing her ID to the receptionist, she got into the elevator and quickly hit the up button. She had already thought up a cover story for Jane so if anyone asked where her assistant was she knew what to tell them. It was pretty simple for Jane; Darcy just had to play her part. She let her eyes water up to look as if she had been crying.

She swiped her key card and scanned her finger print to let her in. Jane was leant over her desk scrawling something onto a piece of paper.

Jane's head swivelled round at the sound of somebody entering the lab. "Darcy I'm so glad you're here I can't find the hard drive with our backup results on I need to check some." She said happily, walking towards Darcy whilst looking distractedly at some papers. When she finally looked up her face fell at the sight of her friends upset face. Darcy hunched her shoulders up and crossed her arms over in a defensive state.

"Darce, what's wrong?" Jane asked concerned, she quickly walked up to Darcy and her hand on her upper arm. Darcy sniffled and seeing her opportunity to tell Jane without anyone else hearing. She wrapped her arms around Jane, leaning her head on the other woman's shoulder.

Jane froze Darcy never initiated contact, she awkwardly patted her back. "What's wrong?"

"Play along." Darcy whispered in her ear. "I got a call from an old friend asking for a favour of sorts. I'm going to be away for about two weeks I'm sorry that I have to go as soon as we got here." Jane put her hand on the back of Darcy's head.

"It's ok." Jane whispered.

"Anyway, I'll call you once it's over and I'm on my way back. I'll programme JARVIS to help you out in the lab before I go. I'm sure Thor will manage to get you out of the lab anyway." She laughed but it was damp with fake tears.

"What do I tell them?" Jane whispered back.

"Just tell them I had a family emergency and had to go upstate and help them." She whispered back. She let go of Jane, slowly extricating herself.

"I'll see you soon then." She said quietly. "Oh and the backup hard drive is in my desk drawer." She added smiling sadly her eyes rimmed with red.

"I hope everything goes well, call me as soon as you can and if you need anything." She replied nodding her head and walking towards Darcy's desk.

Darcy went back downstairs luckily avoiding running into anybody and got back onto her bike.

She raced back to her apartment so she could change her clothes and grab her bags before catching her flight.

She let herself into the building and ran up the many flights of stairs stripping off her jacket and outer shirt. She opened up her apartment door dumping her clothes onto her sofa. She grabbed her clothes she had lain out earlier.

Shimmying into her navy pencil skirt she zipped it up. She piled her hair on top of her hair so it was as flat as it could; she took out a light blonde chin grazing bob wig and fixed it onto her head. She took out a pair of green contacts and put them into her eyes. She grabbed her jacket and slipped on some wedge heels.

She picked up her bags and left her apartment. She walked down a block before catching a taxi to the airport.

Her flight was long and she was seated next to a crying child. She had to keep dampening her eyes so her contact lenses wouldn't dry to her eyes. It took her a while to get through customs and collect her bags, she only had to take her clothes and laptop.

She rolled her suitcase along the linoleum floor of the airport lobby, waiting for Isra to collect her.

Somebody cleared their voice behind her. "Miss Parson I believe?" Darcy turned around. She smirked slightly at the sight of her dark haired friend.

"You are indeed correct." She replied leaning in to peck her on the cheek. "Shall we go?" She questioned pointing her arm out in front.

"We shall." Isra smiled.


End file.
